Join me in my adventure.
I’m a software engineer by trade, but aviation has been a passion for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the small town of Hilo, Hawaii, and I always looked forward to the short island hopping trips we’d take to Oahu or Kauai to visit family. The family part was great of course, but what I really looked forward to was the plane ride.
It wasn’t until I’d graduated from college and moved to the Seattle, Washington area that it even occurred to me that I could actually become a pilot. So, in 2009 I walked in to Galvin Flying at Boeing Field, and embarked on this great adventure. In June of 2010, I passed my Airplane/Single-Engine Land (ASEL) private pilot checkride!
Of course, life happened. I had a young son. Work started getting complicated. And, if I’m honest, I wasn’t getting what I was looking for out of flying planes.
Fast-forward to 2018, and my wife Crystal buys us all a helicopter tour on one of our trips home to Hilo. From the moment that EC130 picked up to the moment it landed, I had a big fat grin on my face. The way the helicopter moved, the way it maneuvered, the way it sounded, the way it felt — all of that struck a chord with me, and I knew I’d found what I’d been missing in my aviation life.
The day I got back to Seattle, I did a bit of research on helicopter flight schools in the area. I saw a few options, but Atomic Helicopters stood out. A few days later I met my instructor, got my first hour in N974CW, and that, as they say, is that.
I’m now a commercially rated helicopter pilot working on wrapping up my instructor certificate, with most of my time in the Schweizer 300C (Hughes 269). Atomic has been great to me, as has my instructor Matt H. I can’t recommend them enough. If you want to become a helicopter pilot, go to Atomic Helicopters.
I’m so happy to be able to share my love of aviation and helicopters with you!